Table 2.
Characteristics of medical students in the preclinical sample: N = 761; nonresponses were less than 0.3%.
| VARIABLES | FM N = 230 (30.2%) | OS N = 531 (69.8%) | ALL N = 761 (100.0%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median (range) age, y* | 24 (19–43) | 23 (20–40) | 23 (19–43) |
| Sex, n (%)† | |||
| • Male | 63 (27.4) | 211 (39.7) | 274 (36.0) |
| • Female | 167 (72.6) | 319 (60.1) | 486 (63.9) |
| Marital status, n (%)‡ | |||
| • Single | 184 (80.0) | 464 (87.4) | 648 (85.2) |
| • Married or living with partner | 46 (20.0) | 66 (12.4) | 112 (14.7) |
| • Separated or divorced | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Born in Canada, n (%)§ | 213 (92.6) | 430 (81.0) | 643 (84.5) |
| Environment before university, n (%)§ | |||
| • Exclusively or predominantly rural | 47 (20.4) | 60 (11.3) | 107 (14.1) |
| • Exclusively or predominantly small town | 70 (30.4) | 117 (22.0) | 187 (24.6) |
| • Exclusively or predominantly urban | 93 (40.4) | 311 (58.6) | 404 (53.1) |
| • Mixture of environments | 20 (8.7) | 42 (7.9) | 62 (8.1) |
| Expected debt upon completion of medical school (directly related to being in medical school), n (%) | |||
| • No debt | 21 (9.1) | 66 (12.4) | 87 (11.4) |
| • < $20 000 | 35 (15.2) | 92 (17.3) | 127 (16.7) |
| • $20 000–$80 000 | 84 (36.5) | 162 (30.5) | 246 (32.3) |
| • > $80 000 | 85 (37.0) | 190 (35.8) | 275 (36.1) |
| • Not provided | 3 (1.3) | 16 (3.0) | 19 (2.5) |
| Best description of the financial situation, n (%) | |||
| • Extremely stressful | 6 (2.6) | 19 (3.6) | 25 (3.3) |
| • Very stressful | 16 (7.0) | 36 (6.8) | 52 (6.8) |
| • Fairly stressful | 73 (31.7) | 133 (25.0) | 206 (27.1) |
| • Minimally stressful | 103 (44.8) | 240 (45.2) | 343 (45.1) |
| • Not stressful | 30 (13.0) | 99 (18.6) | 129 (17.0) |
FM—family medicine specialty, OS—other specialty.
*
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test: P < .05.
†
χ2 test: P < .01.
‡
χ2 test: P < .05
§
χ2 test: P < .0001.